Mrsa and being a diabetic

Some of you will remember both my husband and I had a weird upper respitory infection.We seemed to get over it, then he came hme with what looked like a nasty bug bite.About a week later I got a boil on my thy I thought ok I can lance it, nothing came out but it got bigger and my limp nodes in my groined area got swollen and my whole left hip and upper leg hurt.So I went into the doctor.She looked at it and told the nurse to culture the fluid, then told me you have MRSA I was huh?Then she explained it is a staph resistant to most antibotics.She lanced the site got out what she could gave me a very strong antibiotic and told me both you and your husband need to be treated.So we are both using the get in the nose, besides bleaching our home like crazy.This stuff can kill you if it hits your heart or cause your limbs to be amutated.Several folks at his work had boils so there looking into seeing how to rid it from the work place.Being diabetics we are at higher risk for this and we need to beaware of what looks like a bad bug bite can be this.8 out of 10 doctors will not put 2 and 2 togethre till you have been into there office more then a few times for the same thing.You can also be a carrier and not even know it.

Symptoms of Staph InfectionsThe symptoms of a staph skin infection depends on where the infection is. The staph bacteria can cause: boils - an abscess within the skin. Also called a furuncle. cellulitis - a localized skin infection which can make the skin red, painful, and warm folliculitis - an infection of hair follicles impetigo - causes blisters (bullous impetigo) or honey colored crusted lesions on the skin paronychia - an infection of the skin folds of the nails In addition to skin infections, the staph bacteria can cause: bacteremia - a blood infection deep abscesses - a collection of pus somewhere inside the body endocarditis - an infection on the valves of the heart food poisoning lymphadenitis - an infection of a lymph gland, which causes it to be red, swollen, and painful lymphangitis - an infection of the lymph channels that drain to lymph glands, causing red streaks in the skin osteomyelitis - a bone infection scalded skin syndrome septic arthritis - an infection of a joint, like the hip or knee styes - an infection of the glands on the eyelid toxic shock syndrome The Staphylococcus aureus bacteria can also less commonly cause other infections, including pneumonia, ear infections, and sinusitis. MRSAMRSA is an acronym for Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a type of bacteria that has become resistant to many antibiotics, including methicillin, penicillin, amoxicillin, and cephalosporins. It is routinely pronounced M.R.S.A. - not MUR-SA.Although once limited to hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare facilities, MRSA infections are now very common among healthy children and adults in the community. Your pediatrician will likely suspect that an infection, such as a leg abscess, is caused by MRSA if it isn't improving with routine antibiotics. In that case, the abscess may need to be drained or the would need to be changed to a stronger or different antibiotic to treat the infection.

Diagnosis of Staph InfectionsThe diagnosis of most skin infections is made by the pattern of symptoms and physical exam findings. However, it is not usually possible to know whether the infection is caused by the staph bacteria or another bacteria, like group A Beta-hemolytic streptococcus (Streptococcus pyogenes). And in many cases, it doesn't matter, as the antibiotic your child is prescribed will likely treat both bacteria.To make a definitive diagnosis and to confirm that staph is the bacteria causing the infection, a culture can be done. Once a bacteria is identified on a culture, the pattern on sensitivities to antibiotics can help to tell whether or not it is actually MRSA, routine staph aureus, or another bacteria.

Treatments for Staph InfectionsAntistaphylococcal antibiotics are the usual treatments for staph infections. This may include a topical antibiotic cream (Bactroban, Altabax, etc.) for simple impetigo, warm compresses and drainage for abscesses, an oral antibiotic, or an intravenous antibiotic for more serious or persistent infections.Commonly used oral antistaphylococcal antibiotics include the first-generation cephalosporins like Keflex (cephalexin) and Duricef (cefadroxil).

As resistance to antibiotics is now common among staph bacteria, including MRSA, or methicillin resistent staph aureus, the first antibiotic your child is prescribed may not work. Many of these community acquired MRSA infections can still be treated with oral antibiotics though, such as clindamycin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX or Bactrim). More serious and multi-drug resistent MRSA can usually be treated in the hospital with the antibiotic vancomycin and/or surgical drainage.

What You Need To KnowThe S. aureus bacteria commonly lives on or colonizes the skin of children and adults. It is especially common to find it in the nose, which can make it easily spread as children pick their nose. To get rid of staph colonization, it can sometimes help to treat all family members with mupirocin (Bactroban) nasal gel twice a day for 5-7 days, have everyone take weekly Hibiclens (an Antiseptic, Antimicrobial Skin Cleanser) baths, keep all wounds covered, and encourage very frequent handwashing. Although it can be uncomfortable for your child, having your pediatrician drain an abscess can be the best way to get rid of the infection. Zyvox (linezolid) is a newer antibiotic that can be used to treat complicated skin and soft tissue infections, including those caused by MRSA, in children. It is rather expensive though and would likely only be prescribed when other antibiotics either weren't working or the staph bacteria was known to be resistent to other more commonly used antibiotics, such as Bactrim and clindamycin. Keep bites, scrapes, and rashes clean and covered to prevent them from getting infected by the staph bacteria. Encourage kids to avoid sharing towels, razors, sports equipment, and other personal items at school and in the locker room, where spreading staph infections seems to be common.

So if you get boil or a bad bug bite looking thing or anyone in your family does get to the doctor tell them to test you.

3 replies

Thanks for the info. I hope you and your husband are doing better. Be careful with the bleach, as it is very toxic and could affect your respiratory systems I started cleaning "green" this year. Tea Tree Oil is a great solution to the bleach. It has a very strong smell, so I mix it with water and some orange oil. Use sparingly. It worked great on mold in my bathroom.

WOW, I did not know Mrsa existed.Living in the South I often get bites from Mosquitos and ants. They frighten me since I suffer so from their bites.I could easily mistake that for Mrsa. I will however try to pay more attention to shared bathrooms.